Washing machine



Nov. 13, 1951 D, BRYANT 2,574,617

WASHING MACHINE Filed June 25, 1949 h 23 v 7 I 5a 38 v i nvmvrox.

GLENN D. BRYANT QM/44w ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 13, 1951 WASHING MACHINEGlenn Donald Bryant, Starkvllle, Miss., assignor to The Apex ElectricalManufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of OhioApplication June 25, 1949, Serial No. 101,395 In Great Britain July 5,1948 Claims. 1

This invention relates to washing machines, and more particularly to animproved drive means for washing machines of the type having a clothescontainer adapted to be wobbled for washing clothes and to be rotatedfor extracting liquid from the clothes.

The drive means to be described is particularly adaptable to a washingmachine of the type disclosed in a copending U. S. application, SerialNo. 619,849, filed April 25, 1946, in the name of James Blaine Kirby andentitled, Washing Machine.

As disclosed in the aforesaid application, a clothes container or basketis mounted with its axis disposed at a slight angle to the vertical anda universal joint connects the basket and an inner vertical shaft. Thebasket is free to rotate or may be held against rotation by applyingbrake means associated with said inner shaft. An outer tubular shaftcoaxial with the inner shaft is continuously rotated while the machineis in operation. The outer shaft rotates the outer race of an inclinedball or the like bearing coaxially aligned with the basket axis, theinner race of the bearing being connected to the basket, whereby whenthe basket is held against rotation by applying the brake means to theinner shaft a wobbling action is imparted to the basket. This wobblingaction effects washing of articles contained in the basket in a mannermore fully described in the aforesaid application. Upon release of theinner shaft, the basket will gradually attain the speed of thecontinuously rotating outer shaft due to the tendency of the inclinedbearing to carry the basket with it. The basket side walls have openingstherein whereby spinning of the basket will cause liquid to be removedfrom the articles by centrifugal force and discharged through the basketopenings.

The wobbling action imparted to the' basket during the washing period ina machine of this type creates an unbalanced load on the machine due tothe tendency to successively lift the machine at each point of support,resulting in an unstable condition which may cause the machine to walk.It has previously been proposed to stabilize the machine by fixing aweight to the outer shaft in the zone of the inclined hearing oroptionally employing two weights, the second weight being fixed to theouter shaft adjacent its lower end.

Although the weights affixed to the outer shaft as describedsubstantially increased the stability of the machine during the washingperiod, the weights continued to rotate during spinning of the basket,since they were flxed to the continuously rotating outer shaft. Thiscreated an undesirable unbalance during spinning of the basket due tothe diametrically opposite weights spaced along the drive means and theforces due to the rotating weights were not absorbed as by the wobblingaction of the basket during the washing period.

The present invention overcomes the aforementioned disadvantage of thecounterbalance means by employing a drive means wherein the outer shaftand weights are rotated during washing to counteract the wobblingaction, but this shaft is held against rotation during spinning of thebasket. The inner shaft is employed to hold the basket against rotationduring the washing period and is rotated to effect spinning of thebasket.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a washing machinehaving improved drive means including counterbalance means adapted to beintermittently rotated.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved drive meansfor washing machines of the type employing a clothes container adaptedto have a wobbling action imparted thereto for washing articles and tobe rotated for removing liquid from articles disposed in said container.

Other objects of the invention and the invention itself will becomeincreasingly apparent from a consideration of the following descriptionand drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view of a washing machineemploying the improved drive means.

Referring to the drawing, I have indicated generally at H! a framecomprising a plurality of legs I I and a top plate I2. Supported by andsecured to the frame is a tub I3 having a central opening in the basethereof from which extends a member M of inverted cup form which isrigidly secured to the tub base. The top member l4 has a bearing I5mounted therein which re-- ceives a tubular shaft IS.

The central portion of frame top plate 12 forms a mounting for a secondbearing I! which receives the lower portion of shaft [6. Integrallysecured to the top of shaft I6 is the outer race [8 of a double rollerbearing which has its axis inclined at a slight angle such as 4 to thevertical or to the axis of shaft I6. The race I8 has a counterweight l9integral therewith and disposed at the high side of the bearing. Asecond counterweight 2| is secured to shaft l6 diametrically oppositecounterweight IS, the weight 21 being spaced downwardly fromcounterweight It a substantial distance or as close to the support- 7ing surface for the machine as is practical.

An inner solid shaft 22 is rotatably mounted relative to shaft [6through spaced bearings 23. The upper end of shaft 22 is connected to astub shaft 24 through a universal joint generally indicated at 25, theaxis of the stub shaft being inclined from the vertical or the axis ofshaft 22 at a slight angle such, as 4. A clothes container or basket 26has a central re-entrant portion 21 of generally inverted cup form andstub shaft 24 projects through and is locked to basket portion 21 by anut 28. The basket is provided with ribs 29.

It wilLnow be apparent that if inner shaft 22 is held against rotationand the outer shaft I6 is rotated, a wobbling action will be imparted tothe basket, since thebasket is free to rock due to the universal jointand the inclined bearing causes the stub shaft to be moved in a conicalpath without rotation. This wobbling action of the basket tends tosuccessively lift each of the legs H from the supporting surface andunless this lifting tendency is counterbalanced, the machine is unstableand tends to walk along the supporting surface. The counterbalance isachieved through the rotating weight I9 disposed at the high side of thebasket, since the centrifugal force due to rotating weight I9 exerts apull generally at right angles to shafts l6 and 22 acta 4 second plate49 is keyed to inner shaft 22 and is continuously pressed upwardlythrough a spring the upper face of plate 48 having an ing to keep eachsupport-in contact with the supporting surface as the basket wobbles.However, this force also tends to move the machine laterally at thesupporting surface and this force may be compensated for by providingthe second lower counterweight 21, although this weight may be omittedif there is sufficient frictional contact between the supporting surfaceand the supporting legs ll. As previously explained, the drive meansillustrated in the aforementioned co-pending application would cause aweight, such as 19, secured to the tubular shaft to rotate continuouslyor both during washing and spinning of the basket. Inasmuch as thelifting tendency only occurs during wobbling of the basket, it isundesirable to have a weight, suchas l9, rotate during spinning and thepresent invention provides a drive means whereby weight l9 will rotateduring washing or wobbling of the basket but will be held againstrotation during spinning of the basket.

An electric motor 3| is mounted in any suitable manner on the frame l0and a motor drive pulley 32 is connected by a belt 34 to a driven pulley36. Pulley S6 is continuously driven while the machine is in operationand is provided with an annular strip of friction material 31 at itsupper face and a similar strip 38 at its lower face. The pulley isshiftable a slight distance vertically through engagement with ashifting fork 39 which is mounted on and secured to a shaft 4|. Shaft 4|has a bearing support in a housing 42 which is fixed to frame I0 andone'end of the shaft projects outwardly from the housing whereby thefork may be rocked upwardly or downwardly when desired, either manuallyor automatically. The fork may be rocked automatically through solenoidsunder control of a suitable electric timer or through hydraulic means.Housing 42 has a generally annular top flange 43 and bottom flange 44. Aplate 46 is keyed to the outer tubular shaft l6 and is continuouslyurged downwardly through a spring 41, the lower face of plate 46 havingan annular strip of friction material 48 aflixed thereto. A

annular strip of friction material 62 afllxed thereto.

The operation of the drive means will'now be explained. When it isdesired to operate the machine, the basket will be initially wobbled towash articles contained therein with a desired amount of washing liquidbeing supplied to the basket in any suitable manner. During the washingperiod the parts are as illustrated in the drawing wherein, the frictionmaterial 62 of lower plate 49 is held in engagement with the lowerflange 44 of housing 42 so that inner shaft 22 and resultantly thebasket will be prevented from rotating. The driven pulley 36 isliftedupwardly to force upper plate 46, including the friction material 48,out of contact with the upper flange 43 of housing 42 so that the outershaft I6 is free to rotate. The friction material 31 of the drivenpulley 36 engages the friction material of plate 46 which is keyed toshaft [6 so that this shaft is rotated when the motor is started.Inasmuch as the inclined bearing I6 is fixed to shaft 16 the stub shaft24 will be caused to move in a conical path and wobble the basket. Whenthe washing period is completed the shifting fork 39 is operated to movethe driven pulley 36 downwardly whereby the frictional drivingengagement between this pulley --'and top plate 46 will be broken andthe friction material 48' of plate 46 will engage top flange 43 ofhousing 42 so that shaft l6'wili be held against rotation. At the sametime, friction material 36 of the driven pulley 36 engages the frictionmaterial 52 of the lower plate 49 to effect driving engagementtherebetween and the lower plate 49 is moved out of breaking contactwith the lower flange 44 of the housing whereby the inner shaft 22 willbe rotated, thus, the housing of the inclined hearing will be heldstationary and a spinning action will be imparted to the basket andliquid will be extracted from articles in the basket due to centrifugalforce.

As a specific example, a washing machine of the type described wasprovided with a basket 26 weighing approximately fifteen pounds andhaving an approximate diameter of twenty-two inches and an approximatedepth of twelve inches. The counterweight l9 had a value ofapproximately 9% inch-pounds and the counterweight-2|. nine inch-pounds.These values were obtained by multiplying the mass of each counterweightby the distance in inches of its cen ter of gravity from the axis ofshaft 22. It was found that counterweights having these values provideda satisfactory counterbalance to a hasket having the weight anddimensions indicated during washing or wobbling. action.

Although the drive means is illustrated as being operable by moving thepulley or drive member 36 axially, it will be apparent that the pulleycan be held against axial movement and the same result achieved bymoving the housing 42 or the flanges 43 and 44 axially. In this case,top flange 43 would be moved upwardly to brakingly engage plate 46 anddisengage this plate from pulley 36. At the same time flange 44 would bemoved upwardly to discontinue braking lower plate 49 and permit thisplate to engage the drive pulley 36. Upon concurrent downward movementof the flanges 43 and 44, the

top flange 43 will be moved out of braking con-.

tact with plate 46 and this plate will be springpressed against drivepulley 18. At the same time the bottom flange 44 will be moved intobraking contact with lower plate 49 and this plate will be moved out ofdriving engagement with pulley 36.

The above described drive means permits the counterweight or weights tobe rotated during washing to give a desired counterbalance effect due tothe lifting tendency created by the wobbling action of the basket andpermits the weight or weights to be held against rotation duringspinning of the basket.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the exact detailsof construction shown and described, for obvious modifications willoccur to persons skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a washing machine of the type having a clothescontainer adapted to have a wobbling action imparted thereto for washingand to be rotated about its axis for extracting, of drive means for saidcontainer arranged to counterbalance forces created by'the wobblingaction, said drive means comprising coaxial inner and outer shafts, theinner shaft being fixed to the container and the outer shaft beingrotatable while the container is held against rotation, means associatedwith the outer shaft and basket adapted to cause the basket axis to movein a conical path having its apex between the top and bottom of thebasket when the outer shaft is driven and the irmer shaft is heldagainst rotation, means for concurrently driving the outer shaft andholding the inner shaft to effect wobbling, eccentric weight means onthe outer shaft to counterbalance forces created by the wobbling actionof the basket during washing, and means for concurrently driving theinner shaft and holding the outer shaft for extracting liquid fromclothes in the container.

2. The washing machine as described in claim 1 and wherein the drivemeans includes a driving member loosely mounted coaxially of the shafts,a disc form clutch rotatably fixed to the outer shaft, 9. disc formclutch rotatably fixed to the inner shaft, non-rotatable brake meansengageable with the clutches, and means for effecting relative axialmovement between the drive member and brake means whereby one clutch maybe engaged with the drive member and disengaged from the brake means andthe other clutch may be concurrently disengaged from the driving memberand engaged with the brake means.

a. The washing machine as described in claim 1 and wherein the drivemeans includes a driving member loosely mounted coaxially of the shafts,a disc form clutch rotatably fixed to the v6 outer shaft, a disc formclutch rotatably fixed to the inner shaft, non-rotatable brake meansengageable with the clutches, one clutch being disposed to engage thedriving member top surface, the other clutch being disposed to engagethe driving member bottom surface, spring means continuously urging bothclutches towards the driving member, and means for effecting relativeaxial movement between the driving member and brake means whereby oneclutch may be engaged with the driving member and disengaged from thebrake means and the other clutch may be concurrently disengaged from thedriving member and engaged with the brake means.

4. The combination with a washing machine of the type having a clothescontainer adapted to have a wobbling action imparted thereto for washingand to be rotated about its axis for extracting, of drive meansfor saidcontainer arranged to counterbalance forces created by the wobblingaction, said drive means comprising coaxial inner and outer shafts, astub shaft fixed to the basket, a universal joint disposed generallycentrally of the basket interconnecting the inner shaft and stub shaft,a bearing encircling the universal joint and constraining the stub shaftto move in a conical path with the universal joint as the apex, abearing housing fixed to the outer shaft whereby when the outer shaft isretated and the inner shaft is held the stub shaft will be caused tomove in said conical path to impart a wobbling action to the basket,means for concurrently driving the outer shaft and holding the innershaft to effect wobbling of the basket, eccentric weight means on theouter shaft to counterbalance forces created by the wobbling action ofthe basket during washing, and means for concurrently driving the innershaft and holding the outer shaft for extracting liquid from clothes inthe container.

5. The combination as described in claim 4 and wherein the eccentricweight means comprises a first eccentric weight fixed to the bearinghousing and disposed at the high side of the basket, and a secondeccentric weight fixed to the outer shaft at a substantial distancebeneath the first weight and diametrically opposite thereto.

GLENN DONALD BRYANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,033,146 Motycka Mar. 10, 19362,137,540 Motycka Nov. 22, 1938 2,344,253 Kirby Mar. '14, 1944 2,350,218De Remer May 30, 1944

